Rendezvous with Rev. Fr. Joe Arun, S.J.

Team MBA Rendezvous : Students would like to know your visionary remarks on how MBA education is likely to change route to match with Industry demands?

Rev. Fr. Joe Arun, S.J. The management schools are bracing for change as they are thrusted with management development and growth, their best cover is in rethinking and restructuring the curriculum and retrofitting with specializations and electives offered to meet the corporate demands for practical knowledge. The theme of change has taken hold in many business schools, just as it has shaken the corporate world.

Business school-Industry collaborations for theoretical inputs and practical experience are gaining recognition throughout B Schools. MBA graduates are prized for their ability to think critically,deal with ambiguity and solve complex problems.

LIBA truly believes that no business school can effectively function without a symbiotic relationship between academia and industry. Strong interface with the industry are crucial to bring about closer links between business class rooms and boardrooms. At LIBA, there is involvement of corporates in all key aspects of the Institution. Applying theory in practice is the cornerstone of our approach and learning by doing is integrated into every facet of our courses to bring out the best in students and to equip them better for the real world of business.

LIBA is indeed fortunate to have a close collaboration with various business organizations. It takes full advantage of the corporate connections for curriculum revamping, employment and career support.

Team MBA Rendezvous : How students are guided at LIBA to become finest individuals with values & ethics to lead in corporate world?

Rev. Fr. Joe Arun, S.J. LIBA stands for Excellence with Ethics, which are the hallmarks of Jesuit business education and all its programmes and activities, embody these two elements. LIBA earnestly strives to inculcate in the students’ the values of excellence, justice, honesty and service to the society.

LIBA focuses on the ‘holistic formation’ of individuals in all quotients, viz., intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual. The Institution works with an undeterred zeal to offer its students the best of education, blending classroom and experiential learning.

All our programmes are designed in line with the mission of focusing on holistic growth and developing effective leaders with a global perspective. With an emphasis on ethics and service to the society, core courses are offered on Business Ethics, Social Environment of Business, special lectures on Ethics, learning ethics by managing the Social & Club Activities, a three-day rural visit is part of the course-work to understand and experience the lives of underprivileged and downtrodden, while not diluting the rigour of business and stressing on the need for an understanding of a revenue model for every business, there is a strand of business ethics incorporated in every module of courses which highlights the importance of the human element in every aspect of decision-making.

Ethical Orientation & Sustainability Perspectives are the two among the nine Program Outcomes for the PGDM Programme of LIBA - Apply ethical principles and nurture commitment to personal and professional ethics in all aspects of business practice (PO7) and Understand the impact of business practices on society and environment (PO8).

LIBA has established a Centre for Business Ethics and Corporate Governance (2005) (recognized as a National Centre for Corporate Governance by Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India). The annual flagship event Business Ethics Conference (BEACON) is a conference organised by this centre, since 2007 to promote business ethics and good corporate governance among its stakeholders, particularly the students. To promote Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among companies, a prestigious Mother Teresa Award for Corporate Citizen, instituted in 1998, is presented annually to a company that has shown exemplary commitment to CSR.

Many schools excel but LIBA excels with Ethics and continues its journey towards Excellence with Ethics in preparing its students to become globally responsible citizens surpassing all qualities by evincing unique set of values and hard evidence of their commitment to values in the face of temptation and self-interest.

Team MBA Rendezvous : How anthropology can guide students to handle HR or Marketing respectively in their tomorrow’s corporate life?

Rev. Fr. Joe Arun, S.J. The Business world has recognised that business is not just an economic activity but an outcome of a human activity i.e. which has a human angle.

In order to understand the people side of business, anthropology is inevitable to investigate vital processes such as organization policies, design, culture, leadership, consumer and competitor behavior and so on.

Using anthropology to comprehend the needs and desires of the various groups within the workforce, easing in recognizing the “native language” of various prospective employees; interviewing skills and deriving patterns from interviews could support HR's objective of building more fruitful and effective teams.

Anthropology can give insights to marketers more about their targeted group, glean the relevant information since it will be different in different cultures. Consumers around the world are all diverse, so there are age, gender, regional, religious, and ethnic differences, etc. It equips with the capability to comprehend the complexity of situations and adaptability to deal with it.

Team MBA Rendezvous : What’s that you look forward to MBA aspirants who wish to take admission at LIBA?

Rev. Fr. Joe Arun, S.J. LIBA’s students are characterized by their values and commitment in all aspects of business and personal life. Every year, we welcome students from more 15 states across the country, each bringing their own experience and opinions, enabling stimulating debates in our classrooms. Your background, principles, ability, experience or training sets you apart and will be uniquely valuable to your cohort and the Institution in general.

In addition, as a Jesuit Institution, we look for students who want to be churned to become competent and committed leaders who are ethical, principle-centred, socially responsible with a global perspective and entrepreneurial spirit.

Over many years, LIBA has developed its own culture. Our students, alumni, faculty and staff are proud of the "LIBA Culture" that can be characterized by informality, humanistic approach, smooth interpersonal relationships and family spirit.

One of the hallmarks of Jesuit education is ‘Cura Personalis’ (care of the entire person) are high points of our culture. Our Faculty and Staff support you during your time at LIBA and beyond. We recognise you are an individual with your own aspirations and goals. Our team works with you to build your personal and professional development to prepare you for the global job market.